Am I at risk

goggs

I have Ankylosing Spondylitis I take Benepali which lowers my immune system and is not on your list for assessing your risk.

I also take Co codamol, Etoricoxib and omeprzole

YvonneH

Hi goggs,

Welcome to the forum, it's great to meet you. Benepali contains Etanercept an anti TNF drug which is immunosuppressing. It used to be sold as Enbrel but now it comes under lots of names.

The important thing to remember is not to stop taking your meds

It will increase the risk of more severe symptoms from COVID-19 so you will score on the risk scale for this, Etoricoxib is an anti inflammatory and Omeprazole is a stomach protector which you are taking because of the Etoricoxib can harm the lining of the stomach.

I hope that helps you make necessary choices to protect yourself

Take care

Yvonne x

goggs

Does that mean I am at high risk and if I am why have I not had a letter

Sharon_K

Hi goggs

here is a link where you can asses your risk

https://www.versusarthritis.org/covid-19-updates/covid-19-assessing-your-risk/

I hope this answers your question

Best Wishes

Sharon

KazandNoo

I'm taking prednisolone and methotrexate,no letter yet to shield, worrying as I'm still working in a large factory.

Sharon_K

Hi KazandNoo

welcome to the forums it is lovley to have you here. I have psoriatic arthritis as well so I appreciate life is not simple. It would be worth checking your risk with the link above and make sure you register on the Government site.

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable

I am sure our members will share their experiences with you

Best Wishes

Sharon

dreamdaisy

I am not a doc, just a patient who takes two immuno-suppressant meds for psoriatic arthritis, one DMARD and one biologic. When I began DMARDs twenty-plus years ago I was told that I would be more vulnerable to any infections and to increase hand hygeine. I was told to avoid socialising with poorly people and always have. When I began the biologics I was told it was possible to be ill and not know it. The only difference now is that people without my health conditions are living as I have to, which is a source of amusement for yours truly. When this kicked off I decided not to go out and increased both my hand hygiene, household hygiene and preventative inhaler. I am fortunate in that my husband is able to go out fortnightly for food and every three days for milk: all shopping is sanitised, his outdoor clothes go straight in the washer, he goes in the shower. So far, so good. There is now a lengthy list of immuno-suppressant meds, whether a specific one is mentioned or not is maybe not truly essential because they all do the same thing, control disease activity by reducing the immune system.

Common sense surely confirms that it takes time to collate the information of probably a million-plus patients, and to decide who is responsible for sending letters (GPs or Consultants?), how to word the letters too, and I would humbly suggest that because arthritis is not a killer, those with it will have low priority compared to people with CF and other lung conditions, cancer etc. I had a couple of texts from the Govt this week which told me to do what I have been doing for the past month. Way ahead of you there, chaps, because this is my normal life magnified: you're the new kids on the block.

These are challenging times for everyone. Yes, a pandemic was due but that was always in the future. Suddenly the future arrived and we were not ready for it. As a species we never are. DD

goggs

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/665887#Comment_665887

Tried that but Benepali is not listed as a medication.

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/665899#Comment_665899

You can only register if you live in England that is no good for me since I live in Wales

dreamdaisy

It's worth repeating that benepali is the bio-similar for etanercept / aka enbrel . If either of those are on the list then you have your answer but even if they are not you are at a higher risk than those not taking immuno-suppressing meds due to taking benepali. Your pain relief, NSAID and stomach protector do not affect the activity of your immune system, they are reactive meds as opposed to pro-active. DD

YvonneH

Hi goggs,

I'm sorry you are struggling to make sense of all the information.

Your risk level is 1 if you only take the medications you have told us about. If you take other medications or have other conditions they may well affect this score. This is why we send you to the relevant literature to work this out rather than quiz you on personal matters.

You need a score of 3 to be in the shielding group.

The other link is for NHS England but the links for Wales, Scotland and N Ireland are included for you. This is the link to the Welsh section

https://gov.wales/get-coronavirus-support-extremely-vulnerable-person

If you are able to stay at home and choose to do so you will need to ask family or friends to do your shopping for you. Lots of towns have opened Facebook sites to link those needing care with volunteers if you cannot use family/friends.

I hope that makes it clearer for you goggs

Weepth2k10

I like to keep up to date with covid-19 advice, so generaly check the https://www.rheumatology.org.uk/News-Policy/Details/Covid19-Coronavirus-update-members . They have now withdrawn the risk calculator as there were to many discrepancies between that and the stratification guidance. So now have to use the stratification guidance.